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Gokujō Parodius! ~Kako no Eikō o Motomete~
, released in Europe as 'Fantastic Journey, is a side-scrolling shooter arcade game and the third title in the Parodius series produced by Konami. Like the rest of the series, it is a parody of the Gradius series and other Konami games. Gameplay Overall, the gameplay is identical to that of its predecessor, Parodius Da!, with several new characters to choose from. Also new, if playing a two-player game, the second player will have a different set of characters to select. These are clones of the first player characters, except with different names and slightly altered sprites or changed color palettes. These characters include: *Vic Viper / Lord British *Takosuke / Belial *TwinBee / WinBee *Pentarō / Hanako *Hikaru / Akane *Mambo / Samba *Michael / Gabriel *Koitsu / Aitsu Super Famicom exclusive characters: *Goemon / Ebisumaru *Dracula-kun / Kid Dracula *Upa / Rupa In the Parodius series, starting with Gokujō Parodius!, the Power Meter was changed from a bar with the weapon names as text to a bar with pictures indicating the power-ups. The borders of each icon determine the gameplay type chosen, red for auto, yellow for semi-auto, and blue for manual. As this kind of power meter is shorter, two separate power meters appear onscreen on a two player game. When playing a two player game, shooting the other character enough times will cause it to get angry and fire shots in all directions for a short time. In the updated ports of Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius, this can be turned on or off in the options screen. Also, when a player has pressed continue, the game stops as the player chooses his/her character and the game type. Ports Gokujō Parodius! was ported to the Super Famicom months after its arcade release. Two significant differences between the console and arcade version were added characters: Goemon/Ebisumaru from Ganbare Goemon, Dracula-kun/Kid Dracula from Boku Dracula-kun, and Upa/Rupa from Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa, as well as the alternating two player mode. In addition, Hikaru and Akane get a Tailgun, Boomerang Shot from Thunder Cross, another shooter game by Konami, and a Shield instead of the Spread Bomb, the Carrot Shot and a force field (named "Star") that they get in the arcade version (as well as on the Deluxe Pack released for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn). Similarly, Mambo and Samba are given Homing Missiles, the Reflect Shot (which gives them two options when chosen), Grade Up and a Shield instead of the Bubble Missile, the Control Laser, Search Laser and a force-field (named "Barrier"). Gokujō Parodius! was also ported along with Parodius Da! on Gokujō Parodius Da! Deluxe Pack for PlayStation in 1994 and Sega Saturn in 1995. This compilation was released in Japan and Europe. The European release was released as Parodius, with Parodius Da! simply titled Parodius and Gokujō Parodius as Fantastic Journey. In addition, it had English text when the Megaphone is used and re-colored the mini Eagle Sabu enemies to green (as opposed to brown in the Japanese version). The game was also released for mobile phones and included in Parodius Portable on the PlayStation Portable, with some songs replaced by classical/folk songs. Reception On release, Famicom Tsūshin scored the PlayStation version's Deluxe Pack a 32 out of 40, and the Sega Saturn's Deluxe Pack a 31 out of 40. Maximum gave the Saturn Deluxe Pack three out of five stars, saying that it is virtually identical to the arcade and PlayStation versions and has very pleasing gameplay, visuals and music, but is outdated compared to contemporary Saturn games. They summarized: "Konami's first effort a Saturn game has a lot to commend it, but when there are epics such as Panzer Dragoon stretching the shooting genre, it's clear that Parodius is not in the same league." Cameos in other media *Michael appears as a power-up and Koitsu makes a cameo in the ending of TwinBee Yahho! *Hikaru makes a cameo in the adventure game Snatcher. *Aitsu is a secret playable character in Speed King NEO KOBE 2045. *Hikaru makes a brief cameo in "Wai Wai Arcade" and Pastel wears Michael, Aitsu and Eliza-like outfits in the interactive game TwinBee PARADISE in Donburi Shima. *Koitsu makes a cameo appearance in Super Bishi Bashi Champ. *Koitsu appears as stickers seen in printstations from Mitsumete Knight R. *In the racing game Konami Krazy Racers, Takosuke appears as a playable character, Michael is an assistant and Anna Pavlova makes a cameo. *Koitsu, Pentarō, Anna Pavlova, Moai Battleship and Hikaru make cameos in the pachinko game CR Saikoro Tin Douty. *Koitsu appears in Nou Kaihatsu Kenkyujo Kuru Kuru Lab. *Koitsu and Aitsu make a cameo as one of Jonathan Morris's attacks in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin and Castlevania: Harmony of Despair. *The Gogo Kyatcha! minigame in THE ★ BishiBashi is based on the first stage, Circo Porto Harborland, and Anna Pavlova makes a cameo. *Koitsu, Hikaru and Mambo appear in the puzzle game Pixel Puzzle Collection to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Parodius series. *In Bombergirl, Hikaru and Akane's outfit appeared in the event "Gokujo Shoot Gacha" from May 16 to June 6, commemorating the third game's 25th anniversary. Adaptations and merchandise Soundtrack *The ''Gokujō Parodius ~Original Game Sound Track~'' was produced by Konami Kukeiha Club and released by King Records on July 2, 1994 in Japan by Konami Music Entertainment, Inc. It contains a mini drama and vocal songs (from 39 to 43) by Yuko Nagashima and Mariko Onodera. *In 2005, three Gokujō Parodius songs, Run Run Run, Monster of Cappuccino and Paro Paro Dancing, were included in Classic in Game Music – Legend Compilation Series. *Gokujō Parodius Da! Selection' (極上パロディウスだ！せれくちょん, ''Gokujō Parodiusu Da! Serekuchon) is a dōjin music CD composed by Aoi Konoha and released on December 30, 2014 in Japan. Manga *Hikaru, Michael and Takosuke are featured in the eponymous manga Gokujō Parodius, created by Namie Iwao and published in Gamest Comics. Others *Koitsu and Aitsu appeared in Mobile Cleaner on July 2003. *In episode 4 of the anime Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, these cards, A-Team: Trap Disposal (along with Koitsu, Doitsu, Aitsu and Soitsu), appeared in Vellian Crowler's trench coat when he reveals to Chazz Princeton and his friends that he has many rare cards to give to him. *A trading card game based on this game, titled Card Jan Gokujō Parodius!, debuted on July 2005 in Japan. It was published by Konami and CG Cosmos. *16 keychain figures based on Gokujō Parodius! characters were released on 2008 in Japan. Gallery Gokujō Parodius! - 02.jpg|Key art External links *''Gokujō Parodius! ~Kako no Eikō o Motomete~'' at the Gradius Wiki Category:Arcade games Category:Cameo games Category:Mobile games Category:PlayStation games Category:PlayStation Portable games Category:Saturn games Category:Super Famicom games Category:Parodius series